Seikagu Circus
by kkfyfe47
Summary: Ryoma and his brother Ryoga are forced to work in the circus at the hands of the evil ring master after their parents died. However the ring master knows what they really are and they are treated harshly for it. Will the brothers be able to escape the hell they've been living in or find a home elsewhere?
1. Chapter 1

It's time I got this out of my system since I've tried to contain my thoughts and ideas for this story. I got so anxious that I actually started writing in class today just to get the ideas down on paper. I hope you guys enjoy reading it and tell me if you think it's worth it to keep going. If not then I'll just try to bring it to a close faster than I wanted. Please review, I love to hear from the people who read my stories! Hope you guys have a good weekend :)

Sincerely,

Kay :)

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Ryoma was tired but not as tired as his older brother Ryoga. Ryoga had worked himself to death performing and doing the work of three people since their parents died.

Ryoga had been 13 when their parents died and left them in the circus alone. Their father and mother were performers in the circus since they could remember and the brothers were raised there so performing was nothing new.

In fact if the conditions were better they might be the best at their jobs. Having parents that were known throughout the world as the best definitely gave them an advantage after-all.

Ryoma and Ryoga watched them perform every time and learned quickly. When the ring master thought the time was right he entered Ryoga into the act as well making it a family performance. He was 9 when he started performing and quickly gained the attention of many, earning their praises.

They would travel to far and many places and perform, always becoming better. Ryoma didn't want to be left out though and so he would be allowed to join in the parade they would take into the town.

He didn't know why but he couldn't help but want to be in the spotlight along with his family, getting the audience to clap and laugh. He insisted many times but his family thought he was too young, he was only a cub.

Although the ring master, a dear friend of the Echizen's, soon fell very ill and the doctors said there was no way he could recover. The ring master made his will but said he wanted his right hand man, Kline, to become the ring master and successor.

Everyone tried to get him to change his mind but he was adamant that Kline take the circus far and make it famous. Far was right alright, but in the wrong direction of course.

After the beloved ring master had passed on and Kline took control he immediately put restrictions and rules on everything, being nothing but a tyrant. He would drive people into the ground with exhaustion and would over book them to the point of chaos.

Some of the people with higher influence within their circus, like the Echizen's parents, even tried to persuade him to hold back a little but that only made it worse.

Kline became angered at their parents and said that the only reason they were still there is because the old ring master favorites them.

He went crazy trying to make everyone's routine's perfect that the shows quality dropped until no one wanted to come anymore. The performers would lose balance and fall or mess up their magic acts making it hard to watch.

Kline began making outrageous assumptions and blaming it all on Nanjiro, their father, saying it was his fault. Crazy and insane already, Kline hired a scientist to make a device to try to control Nanjiro and his family.

The scientist was shocked when he found out what the Echizen's really were, he had no idea such a thing was possible. Kline had known about their condition for a while but had never been able to do anything about it with the old ring master in his way.

The scientist that was hired was also completely insane, no surprise there, birds of a feather flock together right. He took the parents away from the brothers by force to test the invention he had created.

Of course Nanjiro would not simply let him experiment on him and his family. He was brought to the mad scientists lab and when he saw the invention he lashed out. He couldn't let his family be under the control of these crazy people.

The invention eventually killed both parents just from testing it out. It was one day when both madmen came for Ryoma and Ryoga that everything went down hill.

They managed to get the boys into the laboratory and held down. That's when they saw it, the collar. That lunatic made a collar that would be able to control the brothers.

As soon as the collar was placed around their necks it attached itself into their skin and reverted them to their original forms, panthers.

You see the Echizen's weren't a normal family and they knew it, that's why they joined the circus. Their parents had been a few of the many who were cursed or rather blessed with the power to be seen as humans so the real humans wouldn't kill them all.

They learned to control the power so they could go back and forth between human and panther forms to protect themselves. Once this was done they met the original ring master who they became great friends with because he found out about their secret.

He decided he would employ them if they could perform in his circus but not as humans, as panthers. He managed to keep their secret with the exception of the animals care taker who would have been suspicious if panthers were always disappearing.

It was when Kline couldn't find the Echizen pair that he realized what they were and even saw them turn back into humans after a performance that he demanded an explanation.

Without the power to turn back into humans Ryoma and Ryoga couldn't get help from anyone. They couldn't talk to anyone but each other and had no one to rely on anymore except each other.

Ryoga tried many times to get the collar off but it was impossible. Kline got worse and started to train Ryoma the next day to perform in the show.

Ryoma was only a cub, barely 3 years old and he couldn't keep up to Klines' expectations. Ryoga was tortured watching his brother try to do his routine only to fail and for Kline to shock him, which was another "handy" function of the collar, or whip him when he wanted.

Ryoga wasn't treated any better though and became exhausted within minutes of his "training". He was so desperate, he didn't want to see his little brother in so much pain and he didn't think he could take much more.

At night, the only time they had to themselves, they would be locked in a cage barely fitting the two. Ryoga would try his best to bite and claw at the collar on his brother's neck but it wouldn't come off. All he could do was comfort Ryoma and tell him everything would be okay even though he was skeptical about it himself.

It's been about a year since the collars were put on them and now Ryoga was plotting something. He was planning an escape. He was going to get them out **no matter what**.

No longer would him and his brother have to suffer at the hands of that twisted man and no longer would they be apart of the Cirque du Mystique.

The thought was bittersweet seeing as how they both grew up here and all the memories of their parents were here as well. However Ryoga had to get his brother and himself away from here before anything worse happened.

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Soooo what do you think? Write in the comments section and tell me all about it! Hope to hear from you all soon, Bye! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Here it is Chapter 2! I'm so excited about this one. I was writing and all these new ideas kept coming to me and I just kept typing, it was great. I hope you like this story as much as I do! Please feel free to review, you can say anything really! I just like to hear that my story was liked by_ somebody. _Next chapter will be up soon hopefully!  
Kay

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The brothers were once again inside their tight and cramped cage in the back of the truck. The circus usually traveled by train or large caravans of trucks and the two hated it when they traveled by trucks.

They were always stuffed inside a cage and stacked like a box of sardines into the truck with tons of other animals until it was full. Ryoma would try his best to sleep through it but it would fail every time because holes and bumps in the road would end up throwing them around in the cage.

Since Ryoma was still just a cub and probably no bigger than a house cat he would cuddle his way under his brother's head, begging for some warmth. The cage offered nothing but cold and darkness from its steel body.

The bars only covered the front and the lighting in the back of the truck wasn't exactly great either. Noises ranged from the snores of other animals to the roaring of the engine and none of it was soothing.

Ryoga could officially say he didn't like being apart of the circus anymore. It brought no happiness to him or his brother, on and off stage. This was the last straw for Ryoga, he was going to find a way out and it was going to happen at their next stop.

He was currently planning how this was going to happen while trying to keep his brother warm. His face contorted into that of sadness when his brothers little body shivered underneath him. He nestled his head over him and shifted his body closer to hopefully warm him up.

"Any better?" He whispered to Ryoma. All that came in reply was a short squeak of a yes. 'Those bastards, it's winter, the least they could do is give us some straw for the bottom of the cage.' He thought.

Ryoma tried his best to lay still and not shiver to worry his brother. Ryoga tried so hard and did his best for him and Ryoma wanted to return the favor but was never able to give back. He felt completley useless and it made him sad. It was always the older brother looking out for the younger.

"Oni-san...thank you." A shiver ran up Ryomas' spine again but he could feel his brother gather him closer to protect him from the cold.

"Are we there yet Oni-san?" He asked looking up at his brother. Ryoga gave a weak smile and said, "Almost Ryo...almost. Go back to sleep okay?" "I can't Oni-san" Ryoma said weakly. "Try...for me?" Ryoga gave Ryoma pleading eyes that he knew would work and of course they did.

Ryoga looked down at his tiny brother beneath him. Ryoma had been starved for too long. It wasn't his fault though, the policy their new ring master had installed was 'No Act, No Food'.

Ryoma had been unable to do his routine for a while now and Ryoga has been splitting off some of his meal and giving it to him but that's not enough for the little cub. Ryoga could see his cheeks and stomach start to sink in from malnutrition.

His fur was coming out in patches and he already had a couple of spots covered with bruises and cuts from the whip. "We're almost there...Don't worry...I'll get you out." he whispered. However Ryoga neglected to look at himself.

He was exhausted and had the same patches of fur missing like his brothers had. With bags under his eyes and his black fur loosing its shine, his care taker should be worried but no, he wasn't, not when he was employed by Kline.

Kline knew full well about the condition of the animals, overworked and exhausted. It was so plainly obvious that the people working in the circus before Kline came would try to sneak them help. All the help was for not, however, because they would just end up in the same condition as before.

It was sad to come to a Circus and see the animals half dead, in fact no one wanted to see that so they would leave. Kline paid no attention to them and just kept going like nothing was wrong thinking the customers left because it was boring.

Therefore making them work harder until they couldn't physically work anymore and get kicked out of the show.

SKRRREEEEEEECCHHH! The brothers hit the side of the cage from the force of the truck they were in stopping. A whimper of pain could be heard not just from the panther brothers but all the other animals caged in the back of the truck.

"Oni-san...what's happening?" "Don't worry I've got you, I've got you." The back door of the truck opened with a slam as the door hit the top of the truck.

A man who Kline had hired recently was standing in the doorway. He had become known as the keeper to everyone as of late and took charge of the animals. To be frank he wasn't the least bit caring and Ryoga hated every bit of him.

The keeper took ahold of the cage closest to the door and starting setting them on the ground outside. Throwing a few swears and grumbling under his breath he closed the back of the truck up again. Ryoga sighed in a moment of relief but also felt guilty for feeling so.

He knew why they were taken out and it wasn't good. Every once in a while when the circus would be traveling animals would "disappear". Ryoga couldn't do anything about it, just watch as old friends were left out in the cold, stuck in their cages.

It scared him to think the same thing could happen to him and Ryoma but Kline wouldn't just let them get away so easily. They were his new toys and he would never take the collar off, not ever.

The truck carried on but with the missing cages there was room for the others to move around. Ryoga was just about to roar out of frustration. Why couldn't anything go right for once.

Just a _little_ bit of luck was all he wanted! Putting his head back down he fell asleep with Ryoma curled under him as close as he could get.

* * *

Outside as the caravan of trucks and cars passed a group of teens were watching from the sidewalk. A bouncy red-head was in front of the group admiring the posters on the side of the trucks with curiosity.

A giant poster on the side of the last truck showed a panther barring its large fangs in a roar. Blue eyes flashed open, a stoic head watched intently, a curious snake hissed, caring eyes watched with awe, spiky black hair turned,and a shy murmur of amazement and a small "Ie data" could be heard.

"Nyaaa, that looks really fun! We should go see! I've never seen a panther in a circus before." "There's a 90 percent chance it would be interesting and good data on our new competitors." A stoic head pondered his options while a sadistic smile showed with blue eyes next to him.

"Saaa...Maybe it would be fun to watch for once, ne Tezuka?" A tired sigh escaped the man named Tezukas' lips. "Fine" came his short reply and the group became excited at the thought of going to see another circus perform.

"Yosh! I can't wait! When do we go?" "The poster said tomorrow at 5. Nya I can't wait!" The guy with a black bowl haircut put a hand on the red heads shoulder "But Eiji doesn't our show start at 5:30? I don't think we can go and be back in time to perform."

"Can we go another time then Oishi?" Oishi turned to Tezuka and he replied saying, " I don't see why not."

After all the group of teens did belong to the Circus that was famous around the area known as Seigaku Circus. Seigaku Circus has been known as the best in the area for a long time since it never traveled.

They each specialized in their own skill and performed at the shows that happened making popularity rise like crazy. Even though the group of teens didn't perform full-time they each took their acts seriously and worked hard to polish their techniques every chance they got.

Seeing another Circus arrive in town made the group anxious to see other talents and skills. It's not everyday that they get to see a panther in the circus also because having a panther in the act is quite rare.

With all of them excited about having competition and seeing the other circus the quickly made their way home. Walking around the corner you could see a tall but colorfully displayed sign out of iron with letters at the top that spelled out 'Seigaku Circus'.

This was it, this was their home and although they may not be blood related, the strength of the bond they share could fool anyone. They were going to be the best that Seigaku Circus ever had...

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Thanks so much guys for reading and I really hope you liked it! If you did like it feel free to read my other story 'Youngest Brother'. I'm kinda obsessed with the tiny version of Ryoma, I mean come on don't you think he would be super cute as a kid? Anyways... See you guys next time!  
Kay


	3. Chapter 3

The next chapter is here! I'd like to say thank you so much for the reviews and I'm glad you guys like it so far! Without further ado here's chapter 3! thanks for being patient and please review after you read, it would be much appreciated!  
Kay :D

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The truck stopped with a screeching halt waking the brothers up again. As the engines stopped people could be heard talking and yelling, "Oni-san..." Ryoma also woke confused by all the commotion.

"Don't worry Ryo-chan they're just setting up the tents outside. We'll probably be last to be unloaded so try to get more sleep, okay?"

"You gonna sleep too wight?"

"Yeah I will, just get to sleep already will you." Ryoga said this in a playful whisper to calm Ryoma down but their peace was soon interrupted.

The back of the truck flung open and the keeper was standing there with someone next to him. Their cage was grabbed by the keeper and dropped on the ground none to lightly outside. "Oni-san, what's happening?"

"Get behind me!" Ryoga was looking through the bars of the cage waiting for someone to come into view but all he could see was snow.

Ryoga got his claws ready because he didn't care who it was, he wasn't going to do anything for Kline. The cage door flew open and a pole with a silver wire in the shape of a circle came in the cage and over his head.

A catch pole, he hated those, there would be no way to get out of it. "Oni-san! Oni-san!" Ryoma screamed as his brother was dragged out leaving him alone in the back of the cage.

He could hear Ryoga struggling and growling at the people around him and it made Ryoma scared. A hand reached in and grabbed Ryoma next by the back of his neck.

"Well, well, well, looky what I got here" said the grossly evil voice of none other than Kline. Ryoga whipped around with horror in his eyes and saw his baby brother struggling in the mans grasp.

"O...Oni-san! His...His nails...Ahhhh! ITA! Help Oni-san!" Ryoga was ready to snap Klines' neck right there.

"PUT. HIM. DOWN KLINE!" Even though Ryoga said this it all came out in a bunch of growls and Kline would never know what he was saying. Kline smirked when he saw the older panther about to snap.

"I know you're mad but you can't do anything about it now. I do have a proposition for you though, not that you can decline. If you don't fulfill my request...well, lets just say your brother will pay the price. Now...what do you say panther boy?"

Ryoga was infuriated but what was he going to do, Ryoma was literally right in the hands of Kline and he was on the ground with a catch pole around his neck. Ryoma had tears in his eyes and Ryoga was cornered because he would never let anyone hurt him.

Ryoga stopped growling and stayed still to show he accepted the terms of their agreement. Kline smirked evilly and tightened his grip on Ryoma making him whimper in pain then he threw him to the ground next to Ryoga.

"Make sure to do well in your new routine... or else." The keeper shoved the two back into their cage roughly and slammed it shut. They were placed back in the truck and Kline left with an evil air about him.

'Not good' Ryoga thought. He turned around to check Ryoma and saw him curled into a ball behind him.

"Ryo...Ryo-chan?" Ryoma looked up with tears streaming down his face, "I...I'm okay Oni-san."

"Ryo...no you're not. Come here." Ryoga took him in closer to look at where Kline was holding him and saw blood dribbling down his fur. There was no way to care for him except one and Ryoga was feeling a little desperate.

Ryoma hissed in pain as Ryoga started to lick his wound, "Oni... I'm scared. I don't want him to come back. When are we leaving?"

Ryoga stopped and paused, "Soon...very soon." 'I can't let this go on, it's decided. We'll run when we have the chance tonight after the show, collar or no collar.'

"Oni-san...that hurts, stop." Ryoma whined. "Hold on chibiske, I gotta get this fixed." Silence filled the air and Ryoma was getting nervous.

'How is Oni-san going to get us out of here?' "Are you scared?" Ryoga asked knowing what he was thinking.

"Huh?" "I've got this all planned out okay, we will get out of here and it's all going to be okay after that. I'm sure of it. Now listen I need you to help to okay?" Ryoma nodded to show he was following.

"After I finish on stage they will probably take me right off and head back here. As soon as he opens the cage I'll fight my way out of the catch pole and you get out of the cage and run for it as fast as you can. You understand? Don't stop and don't look back just run. I'll be right behind you so you don't have to worry about me."

"How you find me if you don't know where I go?" Ryoga smiled gently and said, "I'll sniff you out of course. Who could miss your scent?" teasing him.

"Humph" Ryoma rolled his eyes at his brothers teasing but liked it at the same time. It's been a while since his brother teased him like this and it was comforting.

Silence came again but it was the comfortable kind. Ryoma knew his brother would keep his word, they would escape together and be happy without the circus.

'But...I like circus. Mommy and Daddy say circus is fun...I'm gonna miss circus.' True, Ryoma was going to miss the circus but anything was better than staying here and being pushed around by Kline.

* * *

The teens had no problem spreading the news of a new circus in town, or rather Eiji had no problem spreading the news. He had talked about it with just about everybody he saw and from there it spread like wildfire.

Everyone seemed to be just as interested if not more about seeing a panther in the circus and watching the new talents that had arrived. Soon enough the ring master herself even came to them wanting information on the newcomers.

Inui was pleased to relay the information he had gathered of course and she in return gave some useful information. The others weren't sure what kind of information but it must have been rather interesting because Inui was scribbling down every word with fever.

Now they were sitting in the dressing room waiting their turn to take the stage and impress the crowd. Each making final adjustments and such they would make small talk.

The door opened and Tezuka stepped in, looking toward Oishi he gave a nod that signaled his turn was up.

Tezuka was a ring master in training you could say, so he would announce the next act or stall for more time while the next act got ready. Oishi stepped out with a nervous look but Tezuka quickly changed it with a short, "Don't let your guard down."

Oishi was very good at what he did but sometimes needed some reassuring. After-all Oishi was the best juggler and unicyclist in the big tent, he would never lose his balance or his cool.

After Oishi came back he gave Eiji a high-five for him to begin.

Eiji was an acrobat and a tightrope walker and he loved every moment of it, spinning and flipping in the air like a dolphin. Once Eiji was done Fuji would be up next and his act was definitely bone chilling to watch.

Fuji had the more unique talent of knife throwing and almost everyone was sure he liked it because he got to throw dangerous knives at volunteers from the audience.

Of course he was the expert and never actually hit people and always hitting the balloon, apple or whatever the target was instead.

Then it was Inuis' turn and he always seemed to mystify the crowd with his magic act. However Inui always insisted it wasn't magic but a combination of science and collecting data, how like him to say that.

His experiments always succeeded in amazing people with colorful fireworks and chemical reactions to shock the crowd, it truly was his style. After Inui came none other than the Fire Breather Takashi, or Taka for short, would make his appearance.

As soon as he took the torch his personality would erupt into a confident man who could 'breath' fire like a dragon. Taka could bring the house down, literally, with his act and everybody loved it.

Then once it was set up he would ride a motorcycle through a ring of fire yelling "BUUURRRNNING" as his finale.

Up next would be Momo doing a strongman act were he could show just how strong he was by lifting weights that were incredibly heavy to an average person.

After he completed that he would do a lion taming act which he was very proud of. He was usually in charge of two lions in a cage and could get them to follow orders of any kind from long hours of training with them and gaining their trust.

To close up the show with a finale that had a bang Kaidou would start with a simple snake charmer act. From there it would turn into him 'charming' all the animals previously in the show.

At last all the performers would come out and do a final bow for the crowd before they erupted into cheers and clapping.

The ring master for the show then gave words of thanks to the crowd for making time in their busy schedules and then exit with one more bow.

With the show done people filed out and the teens began their walk back to the dressing room that was at the back of the compound next to the woods. Little did they know what surprise would find them on their way back...

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Please Review, like, and follow! Hope you guys liked it, have a nice weekend and keep on reading my fellow fanfiction lovers!

Kay :D


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! I'm so excited to finally present to you chapter 4! It's about to get crazy so hold onto your seats readers! I hope you enjoy it and look forward to the next chapter! Please Review, favorite and follow!

Kay :D

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The brothers were moved out of the truck earlier in the day into one of the tents that hold all the animals. They were moved into a slightly larger pen and left alone for the rest of the afternoon until show time came.

The keeper came with his catch pole so Ryoga couldn't make any moves and took him to the show cage were he would perform.

Its been about a half an hour since Ryoma was left in the cage by himself. None of the other animals could comfort him and he was feeling terribly uneasy about what was going to happen.

He would flinch and go into a panic at almost every sound that he heard not sure of what was going to happen. Another half an hour passed until Ryoma heard his brother and the keeper coming towards him.

He could hear the growls of warning coming from his brother and the keeper cursing under his breath at having to deal with him. Ryoma got close to the door and waited until the keeper came in front and put the key in not noticing Ryoma so close to the door.

_Click_. It was open, and Ryoga found that he was close enough to get a good bite in. 'Now...I have to act now. I have to get this now or never.'

Ryoga used all his weight and lunged in, teeth at the ready he bit down with a loud chomp. The keeper screamed in pain and started hitting Ryoga's head to get him off.

He let go and swung his head trying to get out of the catch pole as he yelled, " Ryoma, RUN!" Ryoma heard this and scratched at the door until it was open and he could fit his body through.

Seeing the keeper furious and screaming he turned to his brother who was trying to get his head loose from the catch pole.

"RUN! RUN NOW! Go!" Ryoga yelled again and scared out of his mind Ryoma turned to the exit of the tent and ran. 'Run...run faster...run more' was all Ryoma could tell himself as he sprinted into the woods that surrounded the campground they were on.

It was hard with all the snow but with panic, fear and adrenaline running through his veins he didn't really notice. The only thing that penetrated his thoughts was a shout yelling "After him!" and Ryoma was certain it was Kline.

This only made him even more scared so he ran in another direction hoping the only one to find him would be his brother. He was freezing from the cold and shivers would rock his body as he tried to run through the thick snow.

He wasn't sure how much time passed but it was quiet except for his heavy breathing and the wind. Ryoma came to a stop and rested himself up against a tree freezing from the cold, unsure if he should keep going.

Looking back and looking forward his stomach dropped at the thought that his brother would never find him. 'But he said he could smell me out...he's probably right behind me.'

He started to go forward but at a walking pace this time in hope his brother would catch up. All of a sudden he heard people yelling...but it wasn't at him and it didn't sound angry at all.

In fact what Ryoma heard was happy, and the laughter seemed distant but he could still make it out. He felt drawn towards it and slowly his feet carried him to it until the trees stopped and he saw a large red and white tent in the middle of a bunch of small buildings.

He waited by the last tree before it became buildings and wondered if he should go towards the tent to see what was happening. The buildings that surrounded the tent were small but had cheerful posters on the side about something he couldn't read yet.

It looked fun so he thought, 'Maybe I could take a peek...Oni-san might like it too'. He quickly began to walk his way around the buildings ducking in a few bushes that were scattered around when he thought someone was coming his way.

He made it to the tent and heard the clapping and cheering get louder than the last time until it died down and he saw groups of people coming out of the tent a couple of feet away. There were people of all ages and all of them were smiling at each other and laughing.

Ryoma was a little shocked at the site since he had never seen so many people look so happy before, 'Why are they so happy?' Ryoma couldn't remember the last time he had seen people like this, after all only a few people ever came to their circus and those who did never left this happy.

The last time this happened his parents were there and he watched as they made so many people laugh and cheer for more.

'Maybe... Mommy and Daddy are inside!' With his hopes up he quickly squeezed underneath the tent flaps and made his way inside to see rows of bleachers surrounding a ring like the one from their circus.

Ryoma ran to the middle of the ring and looked frantically around for any sign of his parents but saw nor heard his parents. "Mommy! Daddy! Where you go?" He didn't want to give up, they had to be here, they just had to be!

What Ryoma didn't know though was that Ryoga never told him his parents' died, he said they went away for a while making Ryoma think he would see them again if he looked hard enough.

He kept calling hoping that his parents would here him and they would be reunited but his cries for his parents fell on deaf ears, except one.

Ryoma stopped and sat in the middle of the ring feeling defeated and completely lost unaware of the person watching him from behind the tent curtains where the performers exited.

Ryomas' shoulders slumped in a saddened state and he could feel the tears growing in his eyes but he scolded himself for being so gullible. Turning around to head out the way he came he felt like he was being watched and then his sensitive ears picked up the sound of feet.

Ryomas' eyes widened as he turned his head to see an older woman creeping towards him but when they locked eyes she stopped only a couple of feet away. 'RUN!' Ryoma screamed in his head and he sprinted as fast as his tired feet could take him.

He could tell the woman was faster than him despite her age and he had to find a place to hide until she left or run somewhere she couldn't. He was almost to the trees but he knew he wouldn't make it in time, she was _this_ close to being able to grab him.

Looking at a small building he could see there was a large bush he could easily hide in where he couldn't get caught. Running with the last of his strength he dove for the bush not caring about the prickly branches that were ripping at his body.

He hit the brick wall with a slam and crouched down to blend into the shadows hoping if she thought he wasn't there she would leave. The woman came to a stop next to the bush and crouched down to see inside but only saw what she thought was an ear.

The lady let out a large sigh because she was determined to see the little panther, or at least that's what she thought it was. Backing away a bit she sat on the ground in thought, 'Now what am I gonna do?

'He probably couldn't get back out even if he wanted to' she thought. Her thinking was broken though when she heard a group of teens she knew well coming her way, 'Probably back to change, maybe I can ask them for some help?' she thought.

* * *

The group of teens had finished their acts and were pleased with their work so they headed back to their dressing room. Making their way back they were given a few pats on the back for the good work they chatted lightly between each other.

It wasn't until they rounded the corner back to their dressing room that they saw the ring master, Ryuzaki Sensei, sitting in front of the bushes waiting for them.

She was almost transfixed on the bushes until they got close enough that she asked, "Which one of you thinks they would be willing to help me with something real quick?"

They exchanged looks before Momo responded with, "What kind of help are you looking for?" She looked away from the boys and pointed a finger at the bush she was sitting in front of, "This kind, there's a panther in that bush."

Everyones' jaws just about dropped to the ground, why would a _panther_ be in the bushes? Tezuka decided for himself that he would clear this up, it had to be a misunderstanding, "What are you saying Ryuzaki Sensei?"

She looked him dead in the eye and said back, "I wouldn't be lying, now would I?" At that everyone began to take it all seriously.

Eiji was the first to bend down on the ground and try to look as far back as he could. "NYA! I think I see something! I think I see ...its tail!"

He reached his hand in but quickly withdrew "ITAI!" Ryoma scratched his hand 'Noisy' Ryoma thought to himself. "Ouuch" Eiji whined as Oishi walked over. "Let me see Eiji."

As Oishi was helping Eji Momo decided to try, thinking he had the best chance he stuck his arm in. "Yosh! My turn." His arm was in and he started to feel around, 'Soft' he thought as his hand bumped into the panther, "Hey guys...I think I feel it...Ouch!"

he shouted at last. Taking his hand back out he rubbed the area where Ryoma bit his hand. "Baka Mamushi!" Kaidou hissed, "Let me try, I know how to get him out."

"What was that Viper?" "Just give me some of that meat you feed to the lions okay?" Momo reached into the bag that he always carried with him when he worked with the lions.

Opening the bag he reached in a grabbed a piece, handing it to Kaidou with a pout and grumbling under his breath. Kaidou got down on one knee and held the piece of meat a little inside the bush.

'Hope this works' he thought 'Probably smells too much like peach.' Ryoma watched from inside the bush as another hand came in but it was holding something this time.

'It smells...good I think. Maybe I could get him to let go of it.' Ryoma took a step towards it and smelled it again. 'Whoa...what is it?' The smell overwhelmed him and he couldn't help it anymore.

Even if he thought about it really hard he couldn't tell you the last time he ate anything like this. It was always food covered in dirt and in small portions because his brother had to share with him.

He inched forward more and more but the food kept moving away. It wasn't until he heard gasps from the people to his left that he noticed the front of his body wasn't in the bush anymore.

His stomach dropped and the food in front of him was forgotten. He tried to turn around but as soon as he though he was safe he felt something grab him.

He realized the human with the meat had grabbed him and now he was in the air, not good. Kaidou picked him up and felt sorry for the panther cub.

Just looking at him he could see he was malnourished and was hurt all over. He was king of scared to hold him any longer, when he grabbed the cub he started whining like he was in pain just from the contact.

Kaidou was going to put the little one down but something else caught everyone's attention.

RRRAAAWWWRRR! Their heads whipped to the tree line where an older, very angry panther stood, looking like he was about ready to attack.

"Oni-san!" Ryoma yelled. "I'm coming Ryo-chan, just let me take these guys down first. No one lays a finger on my little brother, NO ONE!"

At this Ryoga roared again and started to walk towards the frightened teens. 'No one' Ryoga said to himself...

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Hope you guys enjoyed the fourth installment of Seigaku Circus 'cause I know I did! If you wanna tell me about it or just give me your thoughts go right ahead, I love to hear from you! I'd like to give a big thanks to: **greenwings33, HeartxSoul, ilove0t6forever, DiamondLightHQ, GGCharms, Librajem, Oblivion3000, izzywalz1999, mangaactionsport, mangaloverize, parky,** and **usa16**! You guys are awesome and thanks for either commenting or favoriting my story!

See you guys next time!

Kay :D


	5. Chapter 5

Hello! Next chapter here we come! I hope you like chapter 5 and the next chapter will be coming out soon as well since I have more time off from school. Hope you guys have a very Merry Christmas and a good vacation! Please Review, follow or favorite if you haven't already! Peace out!

Kay :D

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Ryoga had to get Ryoma away from these people before they hurt him anymore. He had been hot on Ryoma's trail and when he though the was close he heard it. He heard his brother cry in pain and he sprinted towards the sound.

He stopped right before the tree line ended in caution and when he looked through the bush he saw a crowd of people. Looking closer one of them was holding his brother and Ryoma looked like he was about to cry.

That did it, his blood boiled at the thought alone that someone was hurting his little brother. Jumping out for everyone to see, he roared as loud as his throat would allow.

Now with everyone looking at him he kept a low growl as he stared down the guy who was holding his precious brother.

"Kaidou...slowly, and very carefully, put the cub down" Ryuzaki said. Kaidou did as he was told and as soon as Ryoma set foot on the ground he ran to his older brother. Ryoga looked down to him and inspected every inch of his body to make sure they hadn't done anything.

"We were just trying to help..." said the boy who was holding Ryoma before. He took small slow steps towards the brothers and put his hands up to show he wasn't going to try anything.

He started to reach behind his back and grab something. Ryoga started to growl again, this guy was suspicious and he couldn't trust anyone.

Watching closely his hand came into view again but this time holding a piece of meat. 'Meat...Meat...yummy, delicious meat' Ryoga's mind went crazy with thoughts of food.

He'd practically forgotten all about the situation. Kaidou's hand came closer with the food and he couldn't resist anymore. He bit into the meat and his mouth watered at the taste of fresh, juicy meat.

The others visibly relaxed while they looked at each other and laughed sheepishly, still a bit nervous. 'Glad Kaidou knows a lot about handling animals' everyone thought at the same time.

No one could see it except Ryoma but Kaidou had a small smile as he watched his older brother chew viciously at the meat. 'What about me?' Ryoma thought with a pout. Ryoma walked straight up to Kaidou and put a paw on the knee he was kneeling on.

"Meat, Meat, Meat!" Ryoma chanted to him in hopes he would get a piece too. Kaidou didn't need to speak panther to know the little cub was begging for a piece also.

Kaidou was about to reach for more when he saw at least five men jump out from the tree line, looking ready to fight. They ran to the panthers in seconds, not giving them the chance to snap back to reality.

They were all carrying catch poles and three of the men had theirs around Ryoga in seconds while the other two got Ryoma.

Ryuzaki and the teens were shocked, 'What are they doing?'

"Sorry to drop in so suddenly but we came to collect what is ours" said a man who emitted evil and looked like the devils henchman, as did the rest.

Ryoga snapped and started to go crazy, trying to get out of their hold but their was too many of them. Ryoma once again had tears in his eyes as the two catch poles that were around his throat started choking him.

Ryuzaki couldn't stand there any longer so she stepped forward and put a hand on the mans shoulder, tugging on him so he would let go.

The man saw this but knew if they didn't come back with anything they would be in trouble. The ones holding Ryoma picked him up since he wasn't much of a struggle as Ryoga and ran before the teens could stop them.

"RYOMA!" Ryoga roared, "Ryoma! Stop! Get off me, get off! He's my brother, what are you doing?" The teens struggled to watch Ryoga barring his teeth and growling unable to get out of their group.

Ryuzaki finally tugged on one of the men, "I'm telling you right now, LET. HIM. GO."

The man snickered, "You're crazy ya old lady, this one is ours, you can't have'em." The others were losing their patience and Kaidou and Momo were the first to act.

They both punched a guy to the ground while Oishi and Kikumaru pried the catch poles off. Tezuka and Fuji took another guy down while Taka and Inui held the others to the ground so they couldn't get back up.

Ryoga had one catch pole left and Oishi got it off, he then tried to steer him away from the man trying to take him. Ryoga looked at the two and noticed the one with the weird black hair was waving him over.

He followed hoping they knew what they were doing. Oishi, Kikumaru and Ryoga ran around a couple of buildings until they stopped at a small, red brick building, no bigger than a master bedroom.

They opened the door and waved him inside but Ryoga thought they looked nervous. About what, he didn't know.

'I hope he doesn't get angry' Oishi thought. 'He's gonna bit my head off nya!' Kikumaru thought.

Ryoga looked around the room once he was all the way in the room and didn't like what he saw. A cage. He wasn't dumb but the teens didn't know that, he smirked to himself.

Although the cage didn't exactly look like the cages he's gotten used to since Kline took charge. This one had bars spaced out from one wall to the other one and from the ceiling to the floor like it was built into the building itself.

It was like they split the tiny building in half and one half was for the animal and the other was for people to come in and do whatever they needed.

Since it was like this it had wooden flooring in the cage but there was still a nice cushy layer of hay for an animal to sleep on and a window, small and square in the middle of the wall.

If anything it looked fantastic to Ryoga but he still didn't like the idea of being locked up again, especially when he couldn't get to Ryoma.

Oishi walked into the caged off area of the room and waved Ryoga over again trying to get him in but Ryoga just stood their, unwilling to let anyone cage him and not know if he would ever get out.

This time even Kikumaru got into the caged area and trying to persuade him into going in but Ryoga still stood there.

"Come on, please? Come here...Come on panther" they both tried. 'Fine, I'll come here' Royga thought to himself. He slowly walked forward and the two teens thought they were going to finally get him in until Ryoga stopped right before the doorway.

Confused the teens just, still standing in the middle of the cage. Ryoga took his paw and pushed the door closed. _Clank_. The cage closed and locked as soon as it shut completely before the teens could stop it.

"NO!" they both yelled and grabbed at the bars to see if it was true, that they were going to be locked in until someone found them. 'What now?' Oishi thought worriedly as he sat on the floor with Eiji.

"We'll be stuck in here forever nya!" Ryoga looked over the room and quickly spotted the keys on a hook next to the door. Going over he jumped up and grabbed the keys off their hook and walked to the door.

"Nya? What are you doing with the keys?" Oishi quickly piped in as he thought of something, "Wait! Come here with those! Please?...Look what I have..." He fished a piece of meat out of a bucket in the corner they keep for the other carnivores.

Ryoga's eyebrow twitched in irritation at his simple mind. 'Food...I really want food but...I gotta, no...food.' Ryoga gave in and walked towards them with the keys, dropping them just outside the cage and waited for his food.

"There, that's it." Oishi smiled and tossed the meat outside the bars. 'Ha, did they seriously think I would just let them' Ryoga thought.

He quickly put a paw down on the keys and kicked them further away from them with a smirk as he chewed on his meat.

"What?" The both stared, dumbfounded. "How did he..." Oishi looked at the panther in surprise.

"He's smart...a lot smarter than I thought, nya." Eiji stumbled with his words in amazement. Animals like a panther weren't usually this smart, they were impressed that he could outwit them.

Ryoga almost trotted out of the small building with pride, and happiness at making them look like fools. Smirking again the door closed behind them and he went around the building to the back side to hide the key until he needed it again.

Making sure it was hidden well he went back around but this time when he went inside the room Oishi and Kikumaru weren't alone.

The others turned around and stared at the panther, nobody knew what to do. It's not like they could tackle him or hold him down, he was a panther and most of them were dead scared that he could eat them whenever he wanted.

"He took the keys that's why we can't get out, nya, it was, it was!" Eiji exclaimed. "Well since those thugs who were after them are gone I suppose we could figure this out." Ryuzaki said.

Ryoga took on a more stoic look waiting for them to act first. Ryuzaki, was starting to get suspicious, this wasn't just _any_ panther.

Kaidou decided to try something, "Momo give me another piece of that meat again." A small hmph could be heard from Momo as he handed over another piece, "I'm wasting all the good stuff on you ya know that Viper?"

"Quiet Baka Mamushi, watch." Kaidou walked forward so he was standing in front of Ryoga and knelt to his level.

"I'll give you this..." he showed Ryoga the meat, "in exchange for the key. I know you're starving so I would take it."

Inui of course was quick to give statistics, "78% chance he will take it, 20% he will but trick us, 2% he won't take it."

Kaidou let his eyes fall back to Ryoga and they had to of stared for at least 3 minutes straight before any movement came from the panther.

Ryoga moved to the door and left letting the door click back into place and leaving the others in curious silence. What will Ryoga decide to do?

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Well, how was it? Don't worry though, I'll be posting the next chapter as soon as I can! Please Review and tell me all about it, did you like, did you think I should change something? Tell me all about it, I loooove to hear from you guys! My thanks goes out to:** greenwings33, ilove0t6forever, HeartxSoul, DiamondLightHQ, GGCharms, Librajem, Oblivion3000, izzywalz1999, mangaactionsport, mangaloverize, parky,** **usa16, selen123, 12345blr, zhuriken05, ArzanianJoy, fictionfan95** and** PhantomThiefAngel99230.**


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, guess what? I am so excited to share this next chapter with you, it's going to be awesome! I was really getting into it at the end. I hope you have just as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Please Review, favorite and follow!

Kay :D

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Ryoma was incredibly scared right now. He watched as his brother was held down with the three catch poles and he was completely helpless.

Sometimes he hated being so tiny unlike his brother because he couldn't defend himself and was always looking for his Oni-sans protection. As soon as the men started walking away Ryoma tried to yell out for his brother but the man carrying him held his mouth shut.

It had only been a few minutes like this before the man carrying him stuffed him in a brown sac and threw him over his shoulder like he was a piece of meat. As they walked his body would be thrown mercilessly against the mans back and every other direction, earning him bruises all over.

When the sickening movement came to a stop he felt himself move off his back and being held in front of him now. He could feel another bruise blossom on his side as he was dropped to the not-so-soft ground.

As he picked his head up and looked for the exit he suddenly wished he hadn't found it. When Ryoma looked up he could see Kline standing over him like he could step on him like an ant any time he wanted.

He started shaking out of fear and his body tried its best to shrink back into the sac almost hoping he wouldn't notice he was there.

"This is all you have to bring to me? What about the one that could actually perform...you know the one that could work, not this useless piece of garbage. All he knows is how to take up space and eat all my food!"

"Sorry boss" his henchmen grumbled. "When we left it looked like the others had it under control so we left while we could. They should be back any moment with the bigger one."

Kline looked like he was going to bust a cap but was interrupted before he got the chance by his other 3 henchmen.

"Well?...What happened to you three? Did you at least manage to get the big one back here in one piece?" Immediately they all looked to the ground in shame and one of them finally pulled the courage together to speak to him.

"Well sir...we uhh, we weren't able to bring him back with us."

"...And why not?" Kline's voice grew steady but laced with the intent to kill and everyone knew it.

"Uhhh, well those guys from the local circus helped them and they beat us up boss, we couldn't help it!"

"UGH! I don't care I want that panther back in my hands by the next show, I must have him. Now hurry up and get out of my sight!"

They all scurried away except the keeper who stayed, "Boss, what should I do with this one?" Kline turned back to the keeper and glared, "Just throw him in with the elephants, that should teach him.."

"But sir if I do that the elephants are sure to kill him."

"Well good, when he's dead get rid of him, I don't want to see that piece of trash ever again. When you're done with him just throw him in the woods a good ways away and no one will know."

The keeper didn't want to be in Kline's presence any longer so he scooped up the sac with Ryoma in it and left for the elephants tent. On the walk there Ryoma could feel himself panic and long to see his brother again.

He began to whimper at the thought that he would never see him again because he knew the elephants would easily crush his tiny form.

'I wish Oni-san were here...I really miss Oni-san, he would know what to do. He could probably beat up all the bad guys and we could get out of here again but I can't do anything.'

As quickly as the keeper made it to the elephant house, Ryoma's self-esteem ran itself into the ground and you could still hear tiny whimpers from the brown sack. Ryoma couldn't take it anymore, he knew he was now inside the elephant house and the keeper was about to put him in the cage.

He heard the elephants loud stomps and their loud noises and finally the squeak from the metal door to the cage they were being kept in.

'Ouch' the brown sack was set on the ground and turned upside down spilling Ryoma out and into the cage.

'I gotta make it out, I don't want to die. I want to see Oni-san again and make him smile again. I still have to find Mommy and Daddy too. I might not be strong like Oni-san but maybe if I trick them I can get out.'

As Ryoma soon as Ryoma hit the ground he stayed as still as he could so maybe the elephants wouldn't notice the tiny panther. 'So big, and there's three of them in here' he thought to himself.

He stayed quiet and watched their movements hoping the giants would keep away. The keeper left the cage quickly with the sack in hand, shutting the door with a slam behind him.

'Quiet, just be quiet' Ryoma thought. He decided if he was in the middle of the room he was too vulnerable so he stood from where he was crouching. It only took this small movement for one of the elephants to notice him in the middle of the room.

Immediately the elephant let out a shriek to its cage mates that there was a panther inside. Thinking Ryoma could harm them an elephant did what every other elephant would.

They stood on their hind legs and tried their best to defend themselves by crushing the panther, this would be the only way for them to survive.

If only they knew that it was Ryoma that was the one who needed the most protecting and not them because now Ryoma was wide open and had nowhere to run.

The first blow landed and crushed Ryoma's tail under the weight of the giant who weighed tons, literally. 'No, no, no what do I do. It hurts, it hurts so much.'

Ryoma shrieked at the pain of his tail being broken and tried his best to get away but with his tail still trapped under the giant he was stuck.

Another giant quickly took action and lifted its front foot and it came down on Ryoma's side, knocking the air right out of him.

Screams of pain could be heard for miles around and Ryoga was not one to miss the cries for help.

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Ryoga had just retrieved the keys from its hiding spot and opened the door with a paw again to let himself in. Only taking a few steps in he dropped the keys from his mouth on the ground and grew completely still.

Fuji could see his whole body tense and he shot a look to Tezuka who seemed to notice the same. Ryoga's ears picked up and twisted at the sound only he was able to hear.

With his breath quickening as he heard each of the screams almost too clearly he turned around and walked back out. Taka took the keys that were on the floor and quickly unlocked the door so Eiji and Oishi could get out.

The rest followed Ryoga out the door to see where he was going and when they got outside they noticed Ryoga standing still as a rock.

'Ryoma...that has to be him, I would know his voice anywhere. What's happening to him, what are they doing to my Ryo?...I have to find him and it has to be now.' Looking back to the trees he began to run but it didn't take the others much longer to decide to follow him.

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The elephants were satisfied and sure they had killed the monster that had entered their cage without permission. Ryoma lay flat on his side on the floor covered in dirt and bruises from head to toe.

The keeper seeing the deed was done went back inside the cage and looked at him carefully before putting the limp form into the brown sack again.

He closed the sack and put it over his shoulder again before he headed out to where he would dump him. He had only walked a couple of feet into the trees before he decided it was good enough and dumped out the contents of the bag without care next to a tree.

Turning back to go the way he came he walked away not noticing the smallest of breaths being taken in and back out by the little panther.

Ryoma was still alive, but barely hanging on in the cold, unable to move or save himself with his crushed body.

His eyes could only stay halfway open as he prayed and hoped his brother would come and save him. The pain he was feeling from his tail and whole body were almost unbearable, he just wanted to scream in pain but he couldn't even do that anymore.

Tears began to run down his face as he felt hopeless for anything good to come.

'Oni-san has to find me...It hurt's so much Oni-san, I can't take it anymore, I need you. Just the pain I feel when I try to breathe is enormous I don't know how much longer I can stay like this.'

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It was clear the snow wasn't going to let up anytime soon but what was more clear to the group following him was he wasn't going to stop until he found what he was looking for.

Ryoga stopped again, ears going back and forth and then he sprinted in a new direction only to stop next to a small pile of snow. The others caught up could only gasp at what the older panther found...Ryoma, Ryoma was under a thin layer of snow and looked dead to everyone but Ryoga.

Ryoga couldn't afford to think like that, he couldn't say his only living family was dead, that would be the end of him.

He started to lick Ryoma's face hoping he would wake and call out his name like he had just fallen asleep next to the tree and would follow him back with a smile on his face.

"Ryoma..." his voice came out shaky, "Ryo-chan it's your Oni-chan, wake up it's time to go. Ryo-chan...wake up. Wake up already, open your eyes!" Ryoga began to cry, he couldn't hold it in anymore and he dropped down on the ground next to his brother.

"Ryoma..." he cried and the others couldn't take it anymore either. Eiji was the first to let out small sniffling and cry into Oishi's shoulder while Oishi tried to keep it in.

Inui had left his notebook and pen tucked safely in his back pocket, the thought to take it out never entering his mind. Taka squeezed his hands together nervously and kept his head down to hide his face if any tears came down.

Kaidou and Momo stood together and closer than normal but tried their hardest to keep straight faces even though the sight was overwhelming. Fuji's blue eyes were open but only to small slits while Tezuka decided on something.

Ryuzaki kept quiet and to her self as she let the years show on her old face at the sad sight shown to her. Tezuka and Fuji had seen it, it was small but it was there, he had to check.

Tezuka slowly came closer and knelt down to Ryoma while trying to send a message to Ryoga using his eyes. Ryoga lowered his head even more to show all help was welcome if they knew a way to help his brother.

"Wait...I think I can see him still breathing. We can still save him but we must hurry, he looks like he's been beaten really badly...almost crushed by something. Ryuzaki Sensei can you call your vet friend to ask if he can get to Seigaku as soon as possible?"

At these words the older lady swallowed and hardened to answer, "I will call him right away, he should be able to meet us there as soon as we get back."

Tezuka brushed off the snow that was covering the rest of his body and as light as he could he tried to scoop him off the ground without moving him to much.

Tezuka now cradling Ryoma in his arms looked at Ryoga again and told him, "Come with us, we won't hurt you or the little one but in order for him to survive we must go back to our camp grounds. We know someone who can heal the both of your injuries but you must trust us."

Ryoga could easily see that this group of people meant no harm in fact if anyone could save Ryoma right now it was them.

"I'm going to trust you, please...please save him" Ryoga said but once again the words were not heard, only growling and low grumbles would answer.

"We'll take that as a yes for now, so lets hurry." Momo said and everyone turned and started a hurried pace back to Seigaku. 'He'll be okay...We'll be okay' Ryoga thought '...we will.'

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Oh my goodness wasn't that delicious? hahaha I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 6! If you did please Review, Follow or favorite! I'd like to thank everyone so far who has already done one of the three and say thank you so much you guys keep me going! Have an awesome and very Merry Christmas everybody! 12/23/13


	7. Chapter 7

Hey readers! Sorry it took me longer than usual to update, the holidays really messed me up. However I really wanted to update another time before the year ended, literally. Out with 2013 and in with 2014, right! I hope you guys have an awesome new years and great rest of your holiday. Hope you like the chapter! Please review, follow and favorite. Especially review, I love to read them!

Kay :)

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The weather was getting worse the closer they seemed to be getting back home. It was like each step they took was slowing them down and they couldn't get anywhere with so much snow blocking their path.

Ryuzaki took her phone out after they set out and tried calling the vet.

"He's not answering!" she said after the fifth call.

"Do you know anyone else who can help us?" Oishi questioned with a worried look.

"Well there is one man but it might take him a little longer to get here."

"Hurry!" Tezuka said as he tried to keep a steady pace with the older panther who was leading in front. Ryuzaki dialed another number in her phone and placed the phone next to her ear. It ringed...ringed...ringed...click.

"Hello, this is Yukimura speaking?" 'Finally!' She shouted in her head but knew she had to stay clam when she talked so she took a deep breath before speaking.

"Yes this is Ryuzaki Sumire from the Seigaku Circus."

"Ah yes, how good it is to hear from you Ryuzaki-san, it's been a while." He quickly replied."What can I do for you this evening?"

"I need you to hurry over to Seigaku, I need your medical help and you're the only one who can help me, or rather, a very unlucky panther of mine. Please, can you help us?" She pleaded the last part as she trudged through the snow, almost out of breath.

"A panther? Since when has Seigaku had a panther and what kind of medical help are you talking about?"

"Yes a cub to be more exact and it looks like someone was abusing him and on top of that something crushed him. Please you have to, the only other person I can think of won't pick up his phone, can you do it?" Ryuzaki was sweating bullets at this point, cause if he didn't help them who would?

"You're in luck this time, I'm close by so it won't take me as long to drive there. I'm heading your way now but after I want a proper explanation."

"Of course, I will be happy to and thank you very much Yukimura-san."

"Before I go please remember to keep the cub as still as possible, I don't want the injuries to get worse."

"Yes of course, and thank you. Bye" the breath Ryuzaki seemed to be holding was let go when she ended the call. She looked up and saw a couple of pairs of eyes waiting for a response from her while trying to keep up with the lead.

"I found someone to help us, his name is Yukimura Senichi. He works his own Circus a couple of towns over and he happens to specialize in big cats like panthers. I wasn't sure about asking him because it would take him longer to get here but he happens to be close by. It's our lucky day."

With a new determination to save the cub they tried to walk faster towards their destination. Soon all you could hear were the tired pants and the soft crunch of footsteps in the snow as they made their way through the forest.

Tezuka would look down at the cub in his arms and each time he would hold Ryoma a little closer in fear he would get too cold or he would lose him along the way. He would watch him with a trained eye and look him up and down for the slightest movement indicating that he was still alive.

Tezuka could tell he wasn't the only one who did this as he saw Fuji and Ryoga look over multiple times, staring at the cub. It had been only about fifteen minutes of trying to walk through the snow and now everyone was covered in a good layer of snow, no longer able to see their breath.

Looking ahead the trees looked like then were getting thinner, like they were...ending. Squinting they looked closer and then there it was, the end.

" We made it back! We made it!" Momo yelled in relief. With the knowledge that they were _this_ close to being able to save the injured cub they began to race to the infirmary.

The few people who were wondering around the grounds could only stare at the group of snow-covered performers and let their jaws drop when they realized they were running next to a panther. Ryuzaki could only shoo them away with a wave as she tried to keep pace with the rest.

Reaching the building that was known as the infirmary Tezuka busted in in a hurry and was glad to see that they were the only ones occupying the room. He walked over to the first bed in the room and as gently as possible he put Ryoma down on the white sheets.

Ryuzaki came in last and got everyone's attention with 2 words. "He's here." Stepping back Ryuzaki left enough room for Yukimura to enter the room.

He was carrying a large bag and stopped when he saw the bed with Ryoma on it. He walked over to Ryoma and he held his breath as he took the in the sight of his injuries.

'There must be at least three broken ribs and his legs are broken all over. Not to mention it looks like his tail is broken in a couple different places. It's obvious he was abused also because of all the matting fur and cuts. Whatever happened to this little guy must have been terrible.'

"Quickly, I need hot water, towels, an empty bowl and a splint. Do you have a table that's sterile?" Inui, Kaidou, Taka and Eiji quickly left to get the supplies from the other rooms that he needed.

Ryuzaki held the door open and said, "The one across the hall should be sterile. We use it for when someone gets hurt in a show."

"Good, can one of you help me move him there, gently, while I scrub up? If I don't, his open wounds might get infected." "Yes, of course. Fuji will you help me?" Tezuka said and Fuji nodded and came to help.

Not wanting to risk hurting Ryoma further they decided to each pick up a corner of the sheet he was laid out on and carry him to the other room. Setting him gently down on the metal examination table the others came in with the supplies they were told to fetch.

While this was all happening Ryoga was as quiet as a church mouse and tried to stay as close as possible to his brother to keep watch. It seemed like the teens and ring master had completely forgotten about him until the vet came back.

Ryoga had followed in the other room when the boys had moved him and planted himself next to where Ryoma's head lay on the table. Senichi walked up to the table and finally seemed to notice the older panther.

"Sumire, what about this one? He looks just as bad, I will be helping him after as well right?" Ryuzaki looked over to where Senichi had mentioned and remembered the other panther.

'What? How..how did I forget him?' "Ah yes I think he needs to be checked as well."

"Good, I'll need everyone to clear out so I can concentrate. When I come out I'll give you all the details and my findings." They all walked out in to the hall and stopped, minds still reeling from all the commotion.

"Saaa...and now we wait." Fuji muttered loud enough for them to hear. Back in the room Ryoga was trying his best to stay hidden so he could stay in the room but it was hard to hide in a room full of white and gray when you were obviously not either.

"Weren't you supposed to leave a minute ago panther?" Ryoga froze. 'Darn, well I knew it wouldn't last forever.'

Ryoga came out from where he was hiding and stood on the other side of the table. "I'm not leaving no matter what you say." He growled out to Senichi.

"Hmph. You can stay but just sit and don't ruin my concentration." He answered as if he knew what Ryoga was saying. Senichi went back to work on the little cub and couldn't believe the injuries he was racking up on him.

Bandages and cotton balls started to litter the table and floor from how many open wounds and broken bones he had to correct. Ryoga, even though he wanted to stay by his side had a difficult time watching his brothers face crunch up in pain.

Sometimes Senichi would even take a break from mending Ryoma because his breathing would become too labored to be sure he would survive. Senichi did give him pain relievers but he didn't want to give him too much either.

When Senichi would stop he would often find himself staring at the bigger panther or trying to figure out how they got here like they were. Eventually when he was at the last break he would need to take after the hours of working he stepped over to Ryoga with careful movements.

"Tell me something..." He reached a hand over slowly and tried to see if Ryoga would let him touch his fur. "How did you to get here, especially the little one?"

Ryoga knew the man wouldn't be able to understand him so he just made eye contact with him and awaited his turn to be looked over.

'I need him to notice the collars. He probably thinks they are just a regular collar but if he puts his hand on it or tries to touch it, he might realize.'

With Senichi's hand on Ryoga's head he pushed his head into the hand to make him think he liked being pet and his hand fell down the back of his head. Hitting the collar, Ryoga couldn't help but let out a whine of pain as it tugged on his skin.

'Huh, why did that cause him any pain...it's not...wait?' Senichi stopped his petting and turned to get a closer look at the so-called collar around his neck.

"What is this? Was it on so tight that it grew into his skin? No...it doesn't...that isn't right." 'Hmm maybe I could try to cut it off.' Senichi got up and walked over to his bag of medical equipment, quickly checking Ryoma's breathing and going back to searching for the tool.

"Found it. Now, lets see if I can get this off you. All you gotta do for me is hold still okay?" Ryoga was elated that someone was finally able to help get the collar off.

'Yes, finally I'll be able to get this retched thing off my neck and then I can help do the same for Ryoma.' Senichi carefully approached the panther and sat next to him.

Putting a hand on Ryoga's neck next to the collar he began to inspect it before he cut, making sure not to harm the panther. He put the scissors on top and tried his best to cut the top fabric off.

"Oooouch..ouch...ow" Ryoga tried to keep in the growling and whines of pain but the guy just kept tugging on the collar too hard.

"Stop, stop, stop don't pull there."

"Hold on, I'm getting close." Ryoga laid his head on the floor and tried to dig his claws into the floor. It didn't help that the floor was tile but he needed something to keep himself from seeming like a baby.

His pride and brother was all he had left and he wasn't going to lose either. _Snap_. What Senichi saw as soon as he thought he had cut off the collar was beyond him. He wasn't sure what to do or feel but this was...was...he didn't have a word for it.

When he thought he had cut it off he really only cut off the top of the collar that was used to disguise the true purpose of why Ryoga was wearing it. 'Finally' Ryoga sighed in half relief when he realized that Senichi had found out about the collar.

"What is this?" Under the fabric the was covering it was metal and wires that made it look like there was a circuit board, with small lights and buttons everywhere.

'Wait what about the cub does he have one too?' Senichi stood up and walked to Ryoma cutting open the fabric covering the real collar underneath.

'There, he has one too.' Senichi was seriously confused and completely bewildered as to why they had such things attached to them.

'It's time to tell Ryuzaki, and if she doesn't know then we are going to get to the bottom of this.' Senichi walked to the door and opened it.

Looking around everyone had taken a seat in the hall and hadn't left, wanting to know what the condition of the cub was. As soon as everyone saw the doctor they were off their seats and were in his face wanting to know everything.

"Ryuzaki-san..." Senichi said trying to keep his voice straight so he wouldn't give the others a hint, "may I speak to you first? Then you are free to tell the others as much as you want."

"Yes, we'll speak privately first." She walked back in with Senichi and saw the two panthers. Walking closer to Ryoma on the table, her eyes grew sadder.

"So how bad is he?" she questioned.

"Ah well, I suppose I'll tell you that first." 'She didn't see the collar...I guess the hole I cut was too small. I'll tell her after I finish telling her about the injuries then show her.'

"There is a lot of damage but the worst of it seemed to be his tail is broken in 3 places, he has 3 broken ribs, severe malnutrition, two fractured bones in the leg and another in his arm.

I can easily tell you that the broken bones were recent occurrences, however the malnutrition and bruising was all done within the past year or so.

It's easy to tell just by looking at the two they have been abused by their owners. I would certainly not recommend returning them to whatever conditions they came from."

Ryuzaki couldn't believe what she was hearing, who could do such a thing. "Thank you for your time, I'm really grateful that you could be here in such a hurry." Ryuzaki replied trying to keep her voice steady.

The room became silent as the two took a breath, trying to take in what was happening. Senichi saw his chance, however, and decided to break the silence with the question he was dying to know.

"Sumire...do you know what's around their necks?" Ryuzaki looked at him with suprise and confusion in her face. 'Necks...' she thought 'what does he mean, around their necks.'

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And Wala! Chapter 7! I hope you enjoyed reading! I'm sorry if the "supplies" I had the character ask for to treat Ryoma weren't realistic but I'm not a doctor so I don't know how to treat something like that or even know what to use. Anyways, please review, follow and favorite. I love to read the reviews so don't be shy and write me something, I read every one of them! Happy New Years!

Kay :)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey Guys! Sorry it tool so long this time, I've been trying to wrap up the semester at school. Midterms were yesterday and today so I decided to take a break and get the next chapter up. I hope you like it! Please Follow, Favorite and Comment when you're done, I love to hear from you guys. I read each one and loved the comments I got from last chapter. Thanks a bunch! ~Kay :)

* * *

She looked at Ryoma's collar carefully this time and could see a space where it looked like the fabric had been cut open.

"I didn't notice it before..." Senichi began, "but their collars are...different, to say the least." Ryuzaki took a finger and put it in the hole to make it wider, but the hole wasn't the only thing that widened. Her eyes took the shape of dinner plates as she saw the wires and almost circuit board-like contraption beneath the fabric.

"What...what on, what on earth is this?" She said as her face took on a horrified look as she turned to Senichi.

"I couldn't tell you anymore than you already know. Although, if I had to guess and taking into account that the owners were already abusing them, I would say it was some sort of device to abuse or control them more."

Ryoga wasn't just going to let them dilly-dally and take their time getting the things off so he decided to give them a confirmation. _Grrowwl_, he roared just loud enough to get their full attention back on himself.

"Just get the darn things off, I don't want that crazy man coming back and hurting my brother again." Senichi lifted a brow in question and looked at Ryuzaki again.

"I think it would be best to get the collar off the cub first and then the older." Senichi said, "Could you help me? It looks like it's stuck in their skin and I can't just slip it off." She moved to the other side of the table while Senichi got a couple of tools to break it off.

Tearing the fabric completely off of Ryoma's collar he took a pair of surgical scissors and started cutting. The wires snapped and lights on the collar went out as each snip of the scissors seemed to loosen it.

Ryoma only stirred as Senichi cut and moved the collar to see his progress. Ryoga had taken a seat again by his brother's head and plopped down next to his brother on the table. He was finally beginning to feel exhaustion after all the running and worrying he was doing to find his brother.

"Ryoma...we're finally gonna be free," he whispered, "don't worry, your Oni-san will be right next to you." Senichi stopped what he was doing as he heard low grumbling from the panther and smiled at the sight of his big droopy eyes trying to fight sleep.

Turning back to the wires he began cutting at a faster paste, determined to get it off. Ryoga could feel the exhaustion pulling his eyes closed but he wouldn't give. He had to make sure the collar was off his brother.

It was his duty to protect the little prince, his parents entrusted him with it. He watched Senichis' hand carefully working at the wires and slowly undoing the contraption. _Snap_.

"Well I don't think there's anymore wires to cut. Let's see if it will come off." A small whine escaped Ryomas' lips as he tried to pry the edges away from his skin.

With a clunk and a thud the collar fell off Ryomas' neck and onto the table. Puncture wounds could be seen lining his neck where it dug in to his skin. 'Finally' Ryoga thought, 'I did it, I got the collar off him.'

"Thank you."he whispered as he let the exhaustion take him. Ryoga slumped to the floor, unable to hold himself up anymore and fell into a deep sleep. Senichi and Ryuzaki looked at each other after they had stared at the collar for a good 5 minutes.

"I'm going to bandage him up and then we should get the other one off."

"Right" she replied quietly. Senichi handed her the collar as he took bandages and wrapped them around the area the collar had left him bleeding and scared.

Ryuzaki turned the collar over in her hands as she waited, looking at it with a studious.

'What reason would someone have to control them like this. It's completely inhumane and when I find who did this I'm going to give them a piece of my mind.'

"Finished" Senichi spoke to her in a quiet tone. "I think this will be my only chance to take the collar off the older panther and keep all of my fingers at the same time so lets hurry." She nodded and handed him the necessary tools to remove the collar again.

He knelt on the ground and started doing the same as he did before but on Ryogas' collar this time. Ryuzaki sat next to him and kept her eyes open, afraid he would wake up and hurt Senichi.

"Ryuzaki-sensei?" A male voice said but it wasn't Senichi talking. She looked around and when her head turned to the door she found Tezuka standing in the doorway looking around.

"Tezuka? What are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to know what was happening, if you'll tell me."

"Ah, hold on." She whispered something to Senichi and Senichi whispered back before she stood and walked a couple of steps, stopping next to Ryoma on the table.

"Well...come over here." She said trying to put herself back together. Tezuka did the same as he saw the small, frail body of the tiny panther resting on the table.

"Will he be okay?"

"So far it looks like he'll make it, but he has to make it past tonight for the doctor to be certain."

"Ah" He responded with, keeping his face in place like stone.

"Don't let your guard down." He said in almost a whisper to the young cub and then turned to face Ryuzaki again.

"What about the larger panther?" He continued but Ryuzaki gave him a weird look. The 'look' wasn't really directed at him but that's when he noticed Senichi wasn't there.

"Where's the doctor?" Surprising the teen even more, a hand shot up in the air from the opposite side of the table that Ryoma was on.

"I'm down here, now please keep quiet." Raising a brow to Ryuzaki, Tezuka quietly walked to see what he was doing. With him and Ryoga coming into view, Tezuka was finally able to see what he was fiddling with.

He saw something he hadn't seen before around the panthers' neck that could make even his face drop.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Senichi looked up from the wound he was trying to stop the bleeding from and saw the teen looking extremely confused.

"Ryuzaki and I think their owners were abusing them and possibly trying to control them, but we aren't sure. We should probably keep this secret if you're going to be keeping them here until they heal."

"Ryuzaki-sensei what about the others, I'm sure they would want to know?

" "Fine, but you must tell them we have to keep this under wrap. I don't want this getting out."

"Ah." It went silent but you could see the gears turning as they started thinking of possible suspects. _Clink_.

"There...that should do it." Senichi said as he slowly removed the collar from around Ryomas' neck to see the same puncture wounds that he saw on Ryoma. Quickly he tried to stop the bleeding and then he grabbed the gauze and started to wrap his wounds.

"Actually I think I have an idea." Tezuka said when the doctor finished.

"Do you both know about the new Circus that came to town a day or two ago?" Both adults looked at him for a second before he could see a light bulb had gone off in both their heads.

"Yeah I heard some rumors about a circus coming recently, you think they came from there?" Senichi questioned.

"This isn't good..." Ryuzaki said with a grim tone, "I've heard things from a few people who went to see a performance and they said they left early because it was hard to watch. They said that everything and everyone was in really bad condition, falling and messing up their routines."

The people in the room seemed to let the information sink in before Tezuka spoke up about seeing the large poster on the side of the truck in the caravan that passed by.

"These panthers could only come from there."

"Tezuka-kun is right, I don't known where else they could come from in this kind of condition." As the doctor inspected his work on Ryoga he gathered the garbage and leftover gauze that littered the floor.

"Thank you Senichi-san" Ryuzaki started, "I'll pay you before you leave, just tell me how much you need."

"No, I don't need to be paid this time, but in exchange I want you to keep me in the loop. I'll have my son Seiichi come over to see how they are doing later."

"Thank you, now come on Tezuka you should tell the others about their condition." Before they had the chance to turn around someone else overheard them.

"Saa...how _is_ our little kitten doing?"

"Fujiko! Let me see too" The three who had been in the room stared at Fuji who was trying to keep the others out.

"Fuji come in, bring the others with you." Tezuka said. Fuji let the door go and it was swung open so everyone who was waiting could come in. Silence consumed the area as they all saw the cub laying on the table.

"Nya, is the ochibi going to be okay?" Eiji said.

"Yes, he'll make it, at least that's what we're hoping." The doctor gave them all a hard look and it softened when he turned back to Ryoma.

"I want you all to make sure that at least one person stays here the first 24 hours and if anything should happen, call me straight away."

"Thank you Yukimura-san.." Tezuka began to take charge like the born leader he was, "Kaidou you have first watch, then Fuji, Oishi, Eiji, myself, Inui, Takashi and last will be Momoshiro."

"Yukimura-san is there anything we can do to help them heal faster?" Oishi said.

"For now just watch over them, I'll have Seiichi change the bandages later. I'll be leaving now, good evening."

"I'll escort you out. Boys stay here." Ryuzaki said and left with Senichi. Fuji walked closer to the cub and leaned down to the cubs level. Slowly and gently he stroked the fur on Ryomas' in between his ears.

"Did you figure out who did this?" He said coldly, making the others shiver at the tone and look in his eyes.

"Ryuzaki-sensei, Yukimura-san and myself talked and the only thing we could come up with was their owners, the circus that just came a few days ago."

If even possible Fuji gave off an even colder look as he pet Ryomas' head. With this new information in his arsenal Fujis' smile became demonic at the thoughts of what he could do to the people who thought animal abuse was okay.

"Well then, I'll just have to go visit them, wanna come with me Eiji?"

"Eeekkkk!" Eiji cowered behind Oishi before saying, "What is Fujiko gonna do?"

"Fuji..."Tezuka wasn't too excited about the way Fuji was acting. An angry Fuji wasn't good, for his target who would receive the wrath of Fuji or for Tezuka.

"You worry too much Tezuka, we're just going to look around, right Eiji?"

"Umm", was all Eiji could come up with, not believing that Fuji didn't have anything in mind already.

Sighing Tezuka knew he couldn't stop him so all he could do was say, "Don't let your guard down." Fujis' smile changed back to its normal mischievous place and Fuji stood up straight.

"Saa, good. We'll be leaving for Cirque du Mystique immediately." Ryoga had heard voices for a while now but was trying to ignore them so he could feel the comfort of sleep.

He thought he had finally been falling asleep but his hearing picked up on something about **that** place. Hearing the name of that horrid place ruined any peace he had formed within his mind in an instant.

He could feel a deep growl begin to rise in his throat and to relieve his frustrations he decided to just let it all out.

_Rooaarrrr!_ Standing up he felt his joints ache and noticed the bandages wrapped around himself in a couple places.

"AHH! Oishi!" Ryoga heard a shout and turned to see the group of teens who helped him. He started to walk towards them and they did the opposite. Halfway across the room Ryoga stopped, seeing that he was scaring them he decided it couldn't be helped anymore.

"You're all too loud, you're going to wake up chibisuke." Silence, complete and utter silence consumed the room for about 5 seconds while everyone just stared at the panther who they all _thought_ just talked.

"Umm Eiji did you say something just now?" Momo asked really confused.

"No." Eiji said back.

'Heh, this happens every time' Ryoga thought.

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So how was it? Good, bad, So-so? Tell me all about it! Follow, Favorite, or Comment. Thanks for reading!

If you get confused: Senichi Yukimura: Doctor: Seiichis' father


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, Hey, Hey! Chapter 9 is here! Thank you for all the reviews and such, it made me super happy! I've been trying to upload faster but school is just being a giant pain at the moment so it might take me a bit longer than usual. Never fear I WILL do my best to bring you the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please Review, Follow or Favorite if you haven't already.

~Kay :)

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Everyone went wide-eyed, even Tezuka couldn't keep a straight face as they all realized what happened.

"Well? Didn't you hear me the first time or are you deaf?" Ryoga said with a smirk.

"NYAA! He talks Oishi! He talked! Ryoga gave Eiji a low growl of annoyance from all the noise he was making. Tezuka tried his best to get his face normal again while Fuji didn't even try to hide his electric blue eyes as they seemed to pierce through Ryoga.

Quick and numerous murmurs of "Ie data" could be heard from Inui as he frantically wrote in his notebook. Takas' mouth hung open along with Oishi who was trying to calm Eiji down so he didn't go crazy.

Kaidou was going to hiss but it trailed off and he couldn't finish it as he just didn't have the power to do anything but stare at Ryoga. Momo was dumbstruck and decided to walk closer to Ryoga much to his surprise.

Momo crouched down in front of him and said, "Speak."

Ryoga just looked at him with bored and annoyed eyes and said, "I don't have time to play dog with you, this is important, baka."

"Nya! See, see Oishi he really did. I'm not imagining things!" Eiji started to jump up and down again in excitement as Oishi tried to digest what was happening.

Ryoga growled at Eiji again saying, "Quiet, you're hurting my ears. Now I can't talk for long but you need to be quiet, I don't want you disturbing chibisuke."

"Who's chibisuke?" Taka asked. Ryoga gave him a look like he was stupid before answering with, "My little brother. His name is really Ryoma and my name is Ryoga."

Fuji took a step forward and asked, "Why haven't you talked before?"

"Simple, I wasn't able to. I had that stupid collar around my neck. I'm not strong enough but once I rest I will be able to talk for longer. The last thing I will tell you is don't go to the _place_." Ryoga seethed when he had to remember that god-awful circus.

"What place?" Momo asked.

"Baka, he means the circus." Kaidou retorted.

"What was that Viper?!" Momo said back but was quickly silenced by one of Fujis' glares.

"Why shouldn't we go to the circus?" Tezuka asked trying to get back to what Ryoga was saying.

"You just shouldn't, Kline is there and you wouldn't want him to find out you guys have me."

"Who's Kline?" Oishi asked. You could see it in Ryogas' eyes as he turned to look at Oishi that that was someone he definitely didn't want to talk about.

"_Hee_..." Ryoga seethed getting darker, "is someone you never want to meet and should keep away from no matter what, got it? He's the ring master there and the only reason he's still there is because he has a twisted mind."

"...What did he do?" Fuji asked after a moment.

"_Grrowlll_" Ryoga responded in panther. To Ryoga this made perfect sense but by looking at their confused faces he could tell his time had run out and he was just speaking panther again.

'Well I guess I'll have to wait till I gain enough energy to talk to them properly.' Ryoga thought.

"Wait! We couldn't understand you, say it again!" Eiji said.

"Data shows he can only talk for certain amounts of time when not in full strength. Amount of time still unknown, further information needed." Inui recited and a few from the group gave him weird looks.

"Data never lies." Inui whispered back as he went back to writing frantically in his notebook.

'What is he a computer?' Ryoga thought.

"Aw but I want him to talk more!" Eiji whined.

"Maybe we should leave like he said. I wouldn't want, umm, Ryoma-kun to wake up." Oishi said as he looked to Tezuka with hope that he could get everyone moving. Ryoga went back and laid down next to the table and finally drifted off to sleep with the room getting quieter.

The teens who were standing all filed out into the hallway just as Ryuzaki was coming. She arched an eyebrow at them in question and Eiji happily explained what happened in the room after she left. Ryuzaki raised her brow when Eiji finished.

"Well if what you told me is true and you're not imagining things then I think you should listen to him. I don't want any of my Regulars to end up like the two in their. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to be helping train the others in the big tent."

She started to walk away but turned back around and said, "Actually, when he does wake up tell me. I would like the chance to speak with him in private." She left and the boys couldn't believe how well she had taken the news of a talking panther.

"That was interesting." Fuji said after they could no longer see her.

"Eiji let's go, I want to see this place."

"What? But sensei said we shouldn't go." Eiji said, clearly scared.

"Guess I'll be going by myself than." Fuji said looking back as he started walking.

"Ehh?...Wait I'm coming!" The rest of the teens watched as Fuji and Eiji also left.

"What now?" Taka said in a quiet voice.

"We wait. Kaidou you're on first watch, the rest of us should continue practicing until it's the next persons turn."

Kaidou went back inside the room and sat down, keeping the brothers in his line of sight. The others went back to practicing but found it difficult to concentrate, how could they?

* * *

Fuji and Eiji had made it to Cirque du Mystique in only a couple minutes since they decided to take the bus. When they were dropped off in front of the gates, Fuji was surprised at what he saw and he could see Eiji was too.

If he didn't know any better Fuji would have thought the place was abandoned. There was no one in sight and everything looked rundown, every last piece of the place.

Banners that advertised the circus were torn and some had graffiti covering them. The red and white stripes that covered the big tent were faded from being in the sun, and muddied from it being neglected.

They walked slowly to the entrance and could see the man who collected tickets wasn't in any shape to do so. At the moment he was resting up against a wooden pole in the ground with a beer can in one hand and tickets in the other.

Grabbing two from his hand and replacing it with enough money he gave a ticket to Eiji and carried on.

"Do you think this is okay?" Eiji whispered.

"I don't think he'll mind." Fuji said back. Once inside they noticed only four people spread out on the bleachers waiting for the show to begin. Well, more like 3 if you didn't count the dog sitting next to his owner, a little boy who was swinging his legs back and forth, clearly happy with the situation, as he ate a handful of candy.

The others included an old man who looked about ready to fall asleep in his seat and two teens who looked around his and Eijis' age. Walking past the teens they started looking for a seat that still looked unusable.

Most of the wood was chipped and scratched beyond repair so they didn't look very stable at the moment.

"Fujiko, when's it going to start?" Eiji said as he sat down.

"Soon" Fuji said but that's all he could say. The second they stepped off the bus Fujis' anger had been rising slowly at the state he found this so-called 'Circus' in. That's right, that's exactly what Fuji was thinking, there was no other word for it but hell.

It didn't look like it could make anyone happy, there's no way. It only took another minute before a man dressed in the usual ring masters uniform walked out into the ring and began. The man's voice wasn't happy or excited but rough and arrogant, it made him want to punch in his face even more.

"Put your hands together for the Lady on Wire." Kline announced. Everyone's attention, or the few people who were sitting there, shifted when the spotlight shifted to a new place and a young woman appeared holding an umbrella.

She began to climb a ladder that went to a platform about thirty feet in the air. Eiji immediately got excited when he recognized that she was a tight rope walker just like him.

He didn't get to see very many other people who could or would do such a dangerous act and succeed. She was only a step or two away from the end before she began to lose her balance.

Luckily she corrected her footing before she fell and quickly made the next two steps to the platform. Taking a bow she climbed down and Kline came back.

"Next I am proud to introduce the magical Coroda." They weren't paying the slightest attention anymore to the performance, with the exception of Eiji who found himself more curious than Fuji.

Others might not have seen it but Fuji did, Kline had slipped up and his face changed right before the spotlight left him. The anger and rage shown in his eyes was impossible for Fuji to miss and now he was plotting to get backstage to...meet him, yes _meet him_. He had a few _questions_ to ask him.

* * *

Kaidous' shift to watch the brothers was about to end and since he didn't think Fuji was coming anytime soon, being busy with whatever he was planning, Momo agreed to take his shift. Kaidous' shift had gone smoothly so far and he had made sure not a single problem would go unnoticed under his watch.

After-all, he was probably the most experienced in taking care of animals even though Momo was known to be the jungle cat expert.

'He may be good but he's still a Baka.' Kaidou thought to himself as it had now been fifteen minutes past his own shift but still no Momo. Kaidou didn't mind really, they weren't hard to look after, Ryoga was a big snore-er and little Ryoma had barely made a move.

However that did concern him a little, not Ryoga being a loud sleeper but Ryoma being so still it was almost like he wasn't even breathing.

Kaidou stood from his seat and walked to where Ryoma lay on the table, leaning down to check his breathing. 'Still breathing' Kaidou thought. Something else he noticed though was how extremely soft his fur was.

A small smile escaped him as he began to slowly and gently pet the fur on his tiny head. Ryoma started to purr at the bliss he started to feel and the warm feeling he got from the gentle touch.

'So nice' Ryoma thought. Slowly his eyes opened to see why he was feeling so good and not bad like he had always that he wasn't feeling bad from all his injuries but the fact that he was feeling any good was surprising.

Ryomas' vision was blurry at best and he had to wait until anything made sense but not before Kaidou realized he was awake.

A "Ffsshhh..." came from Kaidou and Ryoma was immediately on high alert. 'SNAKE!' Ryoma screamed in his head.

It was hard for him to trust anyone except his brother and when the first thing you hear is a snake, something panthers don't usually get along with, he was really scared.

'Get away, get away! Where Oni-san!' were Ryoma's thoughts as he tried to move.

Pain ripped though his body as he tried to get away and he screamed in agony.

"ONI- SAN!" He yelled as he began to tear up from the pain and confusion he was feeling. Ryogas' eyes shot open and he pounced onto the table Ryoma was on, unleashing a roar that would scare the devil himself, not caring who it really was.

Kaidou fell backwards and onto the ground scared out of his mind, like he should be, as he saw the angered aura Ryoga was emitting.

Then the door to the room burst open with a group of worry-faced regulars standing with eyes wide.

"Viper! What did you do?" Momo shouted as soon as he saw Kaidou on the floor. Kaidou looked to Momo and shook his head with a scared look still on his face as Ryoga kept his place on the table as angry as all get-out.

"Ryoga-san!" Tezuka moved into the room. Ryoga didn't seem to hear him as he kept his eyes focused on Kaidou with a low growl still coming from his throat.

"Ryoga-san, stop!" Tezuka called again. Slowly Ryoga looked at Tezuka and he tried again.

"Kaidou isn't trying to hurt Ryoma-san, please stop." Ryoga began to lower his guard but when he heard a faint whine come from underneath him he looked and saw the sad eyes Ryoma was looking at him with.

"Chibisuke..." he started, totally forgetting what he just did. "Don't worry, big brother is right here, okay." Ryoga shifted around onto of the table so he could lay as close to Ryoma as he could with one arm around his tiny body.

"I hurt oni-san, a lot." Ryoma said with tears still in his eyes. "There was a snake and he was gonna eat me." He continued as he began to snuggle into Ryoga hoping he would protect him.

"I'll make sure I tell that snake who's boss, okay? While I'm at it I'll ask for some medicine to help too." Ryoma smiled at the first part but got confused on the latter part.

"Oni, who you going to ask? Don't ask the snake!" He said as he tilted his head to look at his brother.

"I think I made some friends who can help us." Ryoga gestured to the teens now standing in the room watching them.

"I'm sorry about before, it was just a force of habit...If you don't mind could you introduce yourselves properly to me and my brother?" Ryoga said so they could understand him again.

'Maybe they could be friends?' He thought.

* * *

Well? What did you think guys? Hope you liked it! Please Review, Follow or Favorite!

~Kay :)


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